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commercial

Maintain control with these easy-to-use accessories.

As the photos show, these feather-boards share features and have improvements over shop-made ones. You'll notice right away that most of them are made from plastic. So they're durable, maintain their shape, and won't damage a work-piece (refer to Sources on page 51).

Easy Installation. Another advantage they have is how easily they attach to a fence or table.

Instead of clamps, some feather-boards, like the Rockier model at the far left, use flange or hex bolts that lock it into a T-track installed in a fence. Although it appears small, the Rockier model ($12) is quite beefy. Its size makes it perfect for use on a router table fence.

If you'd like to use a featherboard to hold a workpiece tightly against a fence, you'll want to check out the Big Horn featherboard ($10) in the right

Featherboards are a must-have helper in any shop. They hold stock firmly against the fence or table of a band saw, router table, or table saw. To do this, they have angled, flexible "fingers" to apply constant pressure against a workpiece to prevent kickback as the workpiece

is being pushed along the fence. Plus, your fingers stay safely away from the spinning blade or bit.

You can make your own feather-boards, but they can be a hassle to line up correctly and clamp in place. To avoid this, I've turned to commercial featherboards.

▲ Fence Mount. A fence-mounted featherboard (Rockier) improves the cut by providing downward pressure on a workpiece.

▲ Miter Slot. Securely locked into the miter slot by a pair of "cleats," this featherboard from Big Horn holds a workpiece tight against the fence.

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ShopNotes No. 91